


First Impressions

by potatosackcrew



Series: Don't You Worry, Child [5]
Category: Alex Rider - Anthony Horowitz, Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, No Angst, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:36:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28683405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potatosackcrew/pseuds/potatosackcrew
Summary: Doris McGarrett wasn’t sure what she expected when she showed up unannounced after months of having not spoken to her son, but this…this was definitely not it.
Relationships: Alex Rider & Steve McGarrett, Steve McGarrett & Doris McGarrett
Series: Don't You Worry, Child [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2082795
Comments: 6
Kudos: 82





	First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> This would have been up sooner but I had to watch Pixar's Soul and cry.
> 
> Anyway, I only have one more previously-posted-elsewhere fic left, so after that, it's going to take longer to update this series. Just a heads up. :P

More recently Doris had accepted her son’s need for privacy in his own home ( _ his  _ now, not  _ hers, _ she hadn’t lived there in twenty years, she didn’t have the right to claim it anymore), so now when she occasionally dropped in unexpectedly between missions, she used the doorbell instead of letting herself in.

It was a Saturday afternoon, and while she knew that his job didn’t guarantee weekends off, it  _ was _ more likely to find him at home than, say, on a Monday.

Still, they hadn’t spoken in -- well, a  _ very  _ long while, and she had to wonder how he’d react to her showing up out of the blue. She had no idea what was currently going on in his life, so maybe she shouldn’t have been so surprised when a fair-haired teenager opened the door instead of her son.

“Uh. Hi,” she finally said. “I’m looking for Steve McGarrett?”

The teen raised an eyebrow as he stepped back and opened the door wider. “Steve, your mum’s here.”

Wait.  _ What? _

Before she really had the chance to process the fact that this (British!) kid somehow knew her, Steve stepped out of the kitchen.

“Mom. What… what are you doing here?”

“Well, I had some time off.” Doris gestured vaguely in the teen’s direction, where he still stood with one hand on the doorknob. “Didn’t think I’d been gone  _ that _ long.”

Steve snorted. “It’s a long story, but this is Alex.”

“It’s not  _ that _ long,” Alex muttered.

“Long enough. And where are your shoes? You’re gonna be late.”

“Patio, and I’m not going to be late. I still have twenty minutes until I need to be there.”

“Yeah, and it’ll take you at least ten to get out of the house and ten to get there. Let’s go, chop-chop.”

Alex snorted as he left his post by the door. “Sam’s always five minutes late anyway.”

“Doesn’t mean you should be too.”

Doris could only watch the exchange, baffled. “You know, I was a little surprised when Mary adopted, but I think I’m even more surprised at… whatever… this is.”

“I promise I will explain later, but I don’t have time right now.”

“Right. Because you’re going...where?”

“Football game,” Alex filled in as he shoved a pair of cleats into a duffel next to the couch. “Sorry,  _ soccer.” _

Doris frowned. “But it’s only the middle of September?”

“Community league,” Steve said. “You should come watch.”

“Yeah, all right. I’d like that.”

* * *

“So,” Doris said as they sat down in the stands, “what exactly  _ is _ this arrangement? Do I get to count him as a second grandchild or…”

“That would probably suitably freak him out, Mom. I’m just his guardian. That’s all.”

“Right. Sure.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Have you forgotten what I do for a living? I’ve seen the two of you interacting for a grand total of twenty-five minutes and I can already see there’s more to it than just that, Steven.”

“So I care about him. Last I checked, that's not a crime.”

“Of course not. I’m just saying you don’t need to sell yourself short because he obviously thinks the world of you too.” When Steve didn’t reply, she added, “So when are you going to adopt him?”

Steve sputtered.  _ “Excuse me?” _

“C’mon, Steve, really? You haven’t thought about it even once?”

“I’m starting to regret bringing you along.”

“Then you  _ have _ thought about it.”

Steve sighed. “I  _ may _ have acquired the paperwork, but this is not a conversation he’s ready to have yet, Mom. He’s still trying to settle in and adjust; he doesn’t need another wrench thrown in.”

Doris held up her hands in a rare show of surrender. “If you say so.”

* * *

It was Monday and she would have to leave in the morning, but for now she simply wandered around the empty house. Alex was at school; Steve was at work. It gave her time to think about the weekend she had spent with them.

She knew her knowledge was limited, but she was sure her son was wrong. Maybe Steve hadn’t adopted Alex  _ on paper _ yet, but it was clear the kind of relationship they had. The only other person Doris had ever seen Steve be so openly affectionate with was Cathrine Rollins.

Two different kinds of love, but love all the same.

It was in the hug after the game when Alex’s team had won and in the bragging and play-by-play Steve had subjected the rest of Five-0 to at dinner that night.

It was in making sure Alex took his meds at breakfast even though Alex rolled his eyes at the reminder.

It was in the papers stuck to the fridge, all with varying grades but hung with equal amounts of pride.

It was in the framed photos that had joined the ones already scattered around the house. (Because, honestly, who in this day and age actually  _ printed _ photos anymore unless it was with a specific purpose?)

And it was clear that Alex felt the same. Steve had said Alex was still struggling, and Doris was aware she’d never seen him on a bad day, but she knew she wasn’t wrong about this.

It was in the way he excitedly shared things with Steve and in the way he readily accepted hugs from the man.

It was in the way he smiled even as he rolled his eyes at Steve’s reminders.

It was in the way he’d started to leave his mark on the house -- his shoes in the corner, his laptop on the coffee table, a second set of keys on the table by the door.

Maybe they weren’t ready to make it legal yet, but they would be one day, she was sure.

Maybe even sooner than either of them thought.


End file.
